How to Do Humanitarian Aid Work in AfricaSarah Bailey shares photos from her adventures in bringing 60 tons of supplies to 60,000 people 6,700 miles (10,782 kilometers) from home.Photograph by Sarah Bailey

These two boys were part of a group of about a dozen children hanging around me as I sat on the riverbank waiting for my team to load our motorcycles onto our pirogue after we had finished evaluating progress on a road that we were rehabilitating in their village. Bicycles are the most common mode of transport for locals, but we used motorcycles because they are much faster and can handle any jungle road.

I snapped photos of most of the children, who sat less than two feet [under a meter] away from me, as they observed what I was doing. Many people might think that children in rural areas of Congo have not seen cameras, but this is far from the case. Often at least one person in a village would have a camera and even earn money by taking photos of people and selling them. I was asked on several occasions to bring film into Kindu to be developed. Congolese were always happy to pose for me, and children, in particular, love having their pictures taken. My biggest challenge was taking candid photographs—children would run to wherever I was pointing my camera.—Sarah Bailey